columns by holding down the jump button and alternating between left and right on the directional pad. He can also climb a single wall vertically by springing off it and then quickly pressing the directional pad back towards the wall. Development Tecmo first announced the Famicom version of the game in the January 15, 1988, issue of Family Computer Magazine under the title Ninja Gaiden (which would later be used for the game's American version). The game was released in Japan on December 9, 1988, under its final title Ninja Ryūkenden, which roughly translates to Legend of the Dragon Sword. It was developed and released around the same time as the beat 'em up arcade version of the same name; neither of the games were ports of each other but were parallel projects developed by different teams. According to developer Masato Kato (listed as "Runmaru" in the game's credits), the term "ninja" was gaining popularity in North America, prompting Tecmo to develop a ninja-related game for the NES at the same time the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden was being developed. Hideo Yoshizawa (listed as "Sakurazaki") developed and directed the NES version. Ninja Gaiden was Masato Kato's first full-time project as a video game designer, and he contributed the game's graphics, animations and instruction manual illustrations. Drawing inspiration from the Mario series, Yoshizawa kept the same title but changed everything else; it became a platform game as opposed to a beat 'em up such as Double Dragon; the gameplay was modeled after Konami's Castlevania, with Ryu being equipped with a katana-like Dragon Sword, shurikens, and ninpo techniques such as fire wheels. In designing the protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, the development team wanted him to be unique from other ninjas. They designed him with a ninja vest to place emphasis on his muscles, and they furnished him with a cowl that arched outward. They originally wanted to equip Ryu with sensors and a helmet with an inside monitor to check his surroundings, but that idea was scrapped. According to Kato, they used specific locations and environments to justify the need for having a ninja for a main character. A further concern, according to Yoshizawa, was to appeal to the gameplay-oriented expectations of Ninja Gaidens target audience, mainly represented by experienced players who appreciated challenging game design. He recalled that during development, Tecmo adhered to "the philosophy that the user would throw a